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Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 55th day of the year. There are 310 days remaining in 2017.

"Zion Curtain" bill is back on track after nearly falling apart. FBI rejected a request to knock down reports about ties between Trump associates and Russia.

The clock:

13 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)

256 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)

332 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)

377 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)

621 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)

1348 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Here are the stories making news in politics this morning:

SCOOP! The bill to remove the "Zion Curtain" could see the light of day as early as Friday, but it was nearly derailed because of a dispute over how far away children could be from where alcoholic drinks are being prepared [Utah Policy].

Legislators may have found a way to speed up the process for holding committee hearings for some bills during the final days of a legislative session [Utah Policy].

Lawmakers find a way around a roadblock that threatened to kill an economic development community [Utah Policy].

Some companies that have disputes with Google are pushing President Donald Trump to select Sean Reyes to head the FTC because they think he will be tough on the giant technology company [Utah Policy].

Rep. Mia Love tells Utah lawmakers that the Dodd-Frank regulations that came after the financial crisis were an overreaction to the situation, so that's why they need to be rolled back [Utah Policy]. Love also says she is sponsoring legislation to allow women to obtain over-the-counter birth control pills [Associated Press].

Advocates for low-income Utahns are pushing back against a plan by lawmakers to restore the state portion of the sales tax on food [Deseret News, Tribune].

The Utah House approves a bill to make Utah's blood alcohol limit for driving the lowest in the country [Deseret News, Tribune].

The Utah House approves a bill to increase penalties for abuse and fraud connected to bigamy [Tribune, Deseret News].

Friday blockbuster #1 - The FBI rejected a request to say reports about communications between Donald Trump's associates and Russia were not true [CNN].

Friday blockbuster #2 - Russia's interference in the U.S. election was part of a larger plan to undermine confidence in Western governments [New Yorker].

President Donald Trump says a proposed border tax on goods coming in from Mexico could boost the number of jobs in the U.S. [Reuters].

New York Times "President Trump today tweeted that the "failing New York Times must apologize" for publishing leaks from his administration, but at this point, if they didn't publish White House leaks, the whole paper would just be the crossword." Seth Meyers

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